In The Land Of Pikmin
by SkippingZombie
Summary: 200 years after Olimar leaves the planet, a Pikmin Army is on a quest to eliminate all major enemy threats from their continent! Two unsuspecting pikmin get caught up in the war, and quickly become respected soldiers and honored friends to all. REVIEW!
1. In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 1

This story takes place two hundred years after the initial discovery of the Pikmin Planet.

A small band of settlements that were originally set up by Olimar himself sustained the trade between the two worlds of the pikmin and the home-world of Olimar, Hocotate, and through this trade the pikmin had learned many new things. Speech, War and Culture were all becoming modernized in the image of Hocotate. To prove that the pikmin had learned well, an army was raised in order to claim the pikmin planet for its rightful rulers. The pikmin are striking back against the beasts that have haunted them for so long.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Flamer

Flamer woke to the sound of many beating drums. Drowsy, tired and a bit confused he sat up, stretched and slid down the leg of the bright red onion. He grabbed a reed from the tiny marsh nearby and brushed his leaf back into position. He wandered on over to the area where the beats of the drums were coming from to find that the army was already marching through. The army consisted of about ten percent of the pikmin from his base, as well as a fair share from the other bases. Here's when the memory of the last few weeks hit him like a twenty pellet thrown from atop the highest cliff.

Flamer had been living in an onion close to the HTC Headquarters (Hocotate Trading Co.) since he was a seedling. He was a harvester, meaning that he spent most of his days gathering berries for the sprays that the armies used. Those berries were heavier then they seemed, and Flamer had built up his strength over the past few years. His work was hard, but he earned enough Pokos to support himself in this way, and he sometimes had enough left over to splurge on the very strange alien technology of the Hocotate Co.

The pikmin race had learned a great deal from the funny looking beings from Hocotate. They had learned how to speak after a great deal of effort, how to groom and take care of oneself in a rapidly modernizing world, and how to make a living for the pikmin planet itself. The army had advanced as well. They had boots, and small armor plates to help them survive in the battles. There were the bitter sprays and the boosting sprays, which also provided jobs, and many technologies that were still being tested. The pikmin had also learned formations and how to handle themselves in battle. In addition, they had small zap pistons (A name that they made themselves) to shock smaller enemies into unconsciousness, if used correctly.

Anyhow, lately the army had been recruiting many of the bud and flower pikmin from the major bases of onions. The higher ups thought that the best way to make the pikmin population safe and to show that the pikmin race was now much more civilized to the Hocotates was to exterminate all of the nearby colonies of 'creatures'. Flamer was glad he didn't have to go on this strange mission. Or so he thought.

Little did he know that his fate was intertwined with that of the army…

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Zap

Zap slid down the glowing yellow onion's leg and ran past the blue and purple onions towards Flamer. After Olimar & Louie's adventure on the planet, white and purple pikmin had decided to go ahead and live on the surface with the other colors, so they designed their own onions. Life had become crowded with just one onion, so the pikmin expanded the number across the plains. There were approximately forty-five of each type of onion spread out among forty-five different bases around the HTC Headquarters, along with several minor camps. Underground tunnels and caves connected the bases, so the pikmin could get around easily.

Zap was supposed to meet Flamer an hour ago to watch the army march! But with a single glance at the red pikmin, he could tell that he had also just woken up.

"What happened to 6:45?" exclaimed Zap over the drums as he ran up to Flamer

"You slept in too!"

"Yeah… well… I was up till twelve experimenting with that new thingy… the toaster?

Many new technologies had been shipped to the pikmin planet, and the pikmin were amazed by the magical things they could do. The microwave could heat up leftovers without a flame! The Leaf-blower could clear the yard without causing blisters on the hands! (It was also a fashionable way to style your leaf, bud and/or flower!!)

"You mean to say that you stayed up until midnight, playing with the new technology?"

"I was trying to find out where the bread went!"

Zap had been Flamer's best friend since they were seedlings. They both worked in the same harvesting field, and sat together at break time. Flamer had once saved Zap's life from four hungry sheargrubs, earning the red pikmin a small scar right below his stem. One of the sheargrub's shear-like mouths was still proudly displayed on a wall in the yellow onion. Most of the other leaf pikmin begged Zap to take it down because it was scary, but Zap thought of it as his memento of his best friend and everything they had been through together.

"C'mon, let's head down to the lake to watch them off!" Both friends took off in a sprint.

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Smog

The little white pikmin tried to keep up with his troop. But his little legs were not very sufficient in supporting his body plate.

"Smog! Get up here now, soldier!" yelled his commander fiercely.

"Sir! May I dispose of this uniform until we arrive at the battle? It is awfully heavy…"

"Fine! But stay near the middle of the formation! That armor is there to protect you!"

Smog heaved the plate onto a cart then ran back to his formation. He had never wanted to be a soldier; it was pure dumb luck that he had to join the army. He was drafted only a few weeks ago and had been training hard since then. He didn't know very many of the others outside of his squad.

His fiddled with his bud upon his head as he jogged up, and wasn't watching where he was going as he collided with a yellow and a red, both leaf, watching the army go by.

"Hey, watch it!" yelled the yellow, "Flamer, didn't you say that this was a highly advanced army? Yet they still crash into random pedestrians!"

"S-sorry. I was t-trying to c-catch my troop-"

He was cut off as a large watery blowhog smashed through the flowers, heading right for them.

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Flamer

A single though entered the young red pikmin's head as the watery blowhog charged straight at him.

Run away.

But his little legs were not listening, oh no. See, like so many other pikmin, Flamer had a deathly fear of water. He was fine if it was just a small lake, like the one they were currently near, just so he didn't have to get within 50 yards of it, but this time the water was coming to him. As a result, his legs locked up, and he was utterly frozen in fear.

Zap grabbed Flamer by the stalk and ran with him towards the stock-carts.

Currently being loaded were the crates of dried food, one of which was open slightly.

"FLAMER! SNAP OUT OF IT!" yelled a bewildered Zap. "Let's hide in there, the troops can handle that guy!" Zap gestured to the open food crate.

Flamer came to his senses, and dove into the crate with Zap.

The captain of Smog's troop finally noticed the beast, and quickly assembled a force of blue pikmin, who began to fight the monster.

"Will we be safe in here?" whispered Flamer to Zap.

"Yeah, just so they don't close the box and padlock it," He said as a soldier closed the box and padlocked it. The soldier then proceeded to close the back of the cart, and it began to move.

"Great, what were the chances of that happening?" said Zap to an angry Flamer, who leapt at him, knocking him into the back of the crate.

"Ow! Stop that! Look at the bright side, we don't have to do our chores today…

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Smog

Smog leapt onto a moving armor truck, and rode it up to the formation of the rest of the foot soldiers. He looked back at his Commander, who had nearly finished with the watery blowhog. The fight was going very well.

Smog knew that the group would be marching for a full eight hours at least, with only two breaks. He wondered why the troops just had to go and recruit him. The reasoning of his poison killing the enemy if he was eaten did not calm him at all. He was not looking forward to the battles that would come.

Smog was not comfortable with his situation. He had heard that he may not be back for a few years. He felt that he was being cheated out of his life. At least when this was done, the pikmin race could live in relative freedom from war.

As much as he did not want to go to war, he had a very good reason to. His two best friends had been eaten by a Greater Spotted Jellyfloat. That was two years ago. Now he was part of a quest to save the pikmin race from greater harm.

He had heard that the army would be headed for the Buggy Hills, a full week march away. Unluckily for the army, the zap-pistons did not work on the larger of the beasts, so they would have to fight hand-to-hand. (Bud-to-Bulborb?)

His Commander marched back with the blue part of the troop, with no injuries or fatalities. Smog didn't care much for the leader of his troop, but he trusted him, he had only lost three men in the two years he has been a general.

He noticed that the two pikmin he had ran into, literally, just a while ago were nowhere to be seen. He assumed that they had headed back for their onions. Smog followed closely behind his general.

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Zap (in a box)

"So… How long do think were going to be trapped in here?" Zap lazily tossed some dried berries around the crate. Zap had an ability to get in the strangest of situations. There was one time that he had managed to get trapped underneath a ten pellet. Zap never told anyone how that happened, not even Flamer knew. But Zap brought the comical relief that the two always needed when bad things happened, so Flamer could never stay angry at him, no matter what. Already, Flamer had almost forgiven him for trapping them in a crate.

"We should be thinking about what will happen when we get _out _of here," said Flamer jokingly. "Oh yeah Mr. General, the crate was open, so we just climbed in. But it isn't our fault. See, you should really lock these earlier, and make sure that no morons have gotten trapped inside first."

Zap laughed out loud and then threw a fistful of berries at his friend.

Thankfully, there were enough small holes in the box so they could both breathe, but it wasn't very comfy to sit on a pile of dried berries for who knows how long.

"Hey Flamer"

"Yeah?"

"Next time I suggest we climb into a crate… throw me into the lake!"

"I'll hold you to that!"

And he would.

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Smog

Smog woke with a start. He was not in his bed; but he quickly remembered where he was.

The army had marched for far too many hours the previous day, on and on. His little legs were crying out in pain when they were allowed to rest at last. Smog had to tough it out, however, because he was a sub-commander, along with the only girl in his troop. Smog was the fastest to be promoted in the army; he had a natural knack for strategy and the like. He had been training for barely a week when he had been told he was being promoted.

He had been so tired; he fell asleep before dinner was served. His stomach, which was apparently listening in on his thoughts, growled angrily.

"Yeah, I get the idea, this is not my best day by far." He mumbled as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of himself. True enough; the only other time he felt like this was when the onion threw him as it took off. He had been thrown seventy feet into the ground, slamming into the ground headfirst. He awoke the next morning in the HTC Headquarters, after being rescued by a passing worker. He was lucky to have survived that fall, and he didn't feel much comfort in his current situation either.

Smog got up out of the tent and wandered. He guessed that it was about three A.M. That put him at around ten hours of sleep. He was no longer tired after this welcomed rest, but his legs were not happy with him.

He stumbled along the line of wagons; finally locating one carrying dried berries, and picked up a crowbar conveniently located nearby. Skipping dinner probably had not been a good idea the previous day, and stealing food was probably a bad decision too. Smog was going to get in a lot of trouble if he was seen. He checked around him one last time to make sure nobody was around, and opened the crate.

He jumped back in fear as two small figures tumbled out.

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Zap

"FREE AT LAST!! FREE AT LAST!!" Zap shouted enthusiastically as he danced all around, flinging berries everywhere. A small hand grabbed him around the neck.

"Shut up you moron! You'll wake everyone! Geez, am I the only one with a brain here?" Flamer tossed Zap back into the box then turned to their rescuer.

"Hey! It's shorty again!" He shook his hand wildly then kissed the ground at his feet.

"Umm, Flamer, I hate to tell you this, but that ground is probably covered in all sorts of unhealthy substances. Who knows what sort of creatures have relieved themselves in that exact spot?" Zap laughed and threw a handful of berries at his friend.

"Whatever. Oh yeah! I am Flamer, and this idiotic fellow is Zap. Who the heck are you?"

Zap tried to hold back laughter as he saw the white pikmin had fainted from fear, while still standing.

"I did not know that was possible!" said Flamer as they shook the white pikmin wildly.

"WAKE- oops, I mean- Wake up!" Zap heard the sound of feet some ninety yards away. Yellows have the ears for that sort of thing.

"Uh-oh, someone's coming Flamer!" They ran past all of the carts looking for a place to hide. That's when Smog decided to wake up.

"Who? What? Where?" Smog shook himself free from Zap's grasp, who had been dragging him along.

"You again! What in the name of Lord Olimar is going on?"

"Please, hide us! We got trapped in a crate of berries back at our base! Someone's coming!" Zap pointed back, to where the footsteps were coming from.

"Why should I help you?"

"Would you like your commander to know that you were stealing rations?" grinned Flamer.

"Blackmail? That's not fair!" protested Smog; although he knew he didn't have much of a choice. He led them wildly through several rows of tents until he located his own. He would have to hope that the broken crate and the spilled berries would be overlooked.

All three ducked inside the petite tent as the footsteps came closer…

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I have lost count of how many times I have edited this exact story. But if you see any mistakes, let me know with a PM. And also, make sure you review. I don't care if it's only a six word review, just do it! And pay attention to new chapters that will be appearing.

I began writing this story in late 2005, but stopped after the files were deleted after my computer crashed in early 2006. In late 2007, more than a year later, I recovered the files from another computer that I hadn't even realized contained the story! I continued writing until May 2008, when I took a very long break. And now, I'm back and ready to see this thing through to the end.

-SkippingZombie, originally written 2005, revised countless times, then re-written and extended August 2008.

P.S. Please review.


	2. In Training

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 2

The pikmin army has begun the long march to sweep their continent of all major enemy threats. Some might call it inhumane to almost eliminate dozens of species, but the war has been waged, and there is no turning back now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Zap

The footsteps tramped on by the tent that the three pikmin were silently waiting in. Zap listened closely as the pikmin outside searched for a few moments that seemed to him like ages. Then they declared everything clear, and returned to their tents.

"Whew! Now that was close!" Zap heaved a sigh of relief, as Flamer rubbed his scarred stem in relief.

"Hey, we never got your name. Would you mind telling us?" Zap turned to the bewildered white pikmin.

Smog glared at him for a few moments with those beady red eyes of his, then answered plainly "Smog."

"It is nice to meet you Smog, what brings you out here?" Said Zap, trying unsuccessfully to lead the conversation away from their barging into Smog's events.

"I should be asking YOU that! I happen to be a sub-commander of troop forty-five! Thanks to you, I have a lot of things to take care of! How am I going to explain two unidentified pikmin showing up?! Look, either I turn you in, or you try to sneak away! But be warned, my commander is always looking for new soldiers!"

Smog sat down angrily, waiting to hear what they had to say.

"Wait, your saying that if we get caught sneaking away…" Flamer began.

"Both of you will be drafted. That's how it works around here."

Several thoughts went through Zap's head.

'I've never really thought about joining the army. I was very glad that I was never drafted. But I guess I wouldn't hate it, as long as there is food and beds. I'm okay either way.'

"Flamer… You get to decide," said Zap as he sat down.

'I really don't care as long as we're together anyway.' he thought to himself.

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Flamer

'Whoa! He wants me to decide? I don't have anything back home, and I really wouldn't mind getting away for a while… but a year or two?'

"We stick together Zap. You don't mind either way?" Flamer questioned his best friend.

"Sure I mind! But I trust you, and I will do what you do." The two had been together for as long as they could remember. They spent workdays together; they spent their days off together. They were like brothers; they were always there for each other. They were all that they really had.

They locked eyes for a moment then turned to Smog.

"We are staying here, together," they said in perfect unison.

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Smog

'I can't believe it! They're really staying? I fought to get out of this war! They are going to join just like that? I don't believe it! What am I going to tell my commander? "Hey yeah, these guys showed up while I was stealing food, and I kinda talked them into joining our squad…" Or, I could have nothing to do with it…'

"Hey, Zap, Flamer. I think the best way to let this play out is to take out the part about the crate and the food…"

"Sure, no problem." Zap replied. "It was rather embarrassing anyway."

"Good, here's the plan…"

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The next day; Flamer

Flamer and Zap marched into Smog's Commander's cabin. They had rehearsed almost all of last night at what they would say and do.

"Sir! Asking for permission for an audience sir!" Zap tried to hold back laughter as the commander stood to meet them.

"Permission granted, what do you want?"

"We ask to join your troop sir. We have come from… uh," Flamer looked at what was written on his arm. "Camp Kenmore, just south of here."

The general looked at him oddly for a moment, and then stood up straight.

"I can't just recruit anyone… but we are a bit short…"

"We won't let you down sir!" Zap pleaded with his eyes. Smog had told them that they desperately needed men; this 'cannot hire anyone' ruse was simply an act.

"Prior training?"

"Elcowitz boot camp for 4 weeks, sir," Actually, this was true! They had gone to a boot camp by mistake once, thinking it was self-defense class. They decided to stay the whole time, because there were no refunds. And the food there was delicious.

"Prior classes?"

"No sir, first time in the army."

"Well… like I said, we are short a few hands… I guess I could squeeze you in. Welcome to the Big Leagues, boys!!"

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Bubbles

_June 3rd,_

_Dear Diary,_

_I've been wondering again. Why am I the only girl in my squadron? I fight as well and even better than a lot of these boys! Just yesterday we gained two new hands around here, and yep, both guys. Zap and Flamer, yellow and red, respectively. I have not seen them in action yet, but I saw a scar on Flamer's stem, maybe they have potential._

_Guess what? As I wrote, Commander came in and assigned Smog and I to guide them! Why does he always pair me with Smog anyway?_

_There are rumors that the NEVER BEFORE EXPLORED TERRITORY up ahead is home to another colony of pikmin. Maybe even a new color, who knows? But if there were a new color, we'd have to talk to them in the native pikmin language, which only a few of us know! Of course I can speak to them, but Smog and the rest cannot._

_This new territory is supposedly home to the Bulborb Grand Emperor! The terrifying beast that nobody has ever survived an encounter with—_

At this point, Flamer, who had been reading over her shoulder, burst out laughing.

"Haha! If nobody survived, where do the stories come from?"

Bubbles had been too wrapped up in writing that she had not noticed him come into the tent. Embarrassed, she slammed her diary shut and tossed it under her cot.

"Why are you in my tent?" She swung at his head suddenly, but he ducked under her arm. He then jumped over her and landed on the unused cot next to hers.

"OUR tent. Zap is staying with some purple named Clyde. Your tent is the only other one available, save for Smog's. And I think that Smog isn't too fond of me, so I'm going to be bunking with you. So, Bubbles is it? Nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

She looked at him puzzled, but shook his hand anyway. "Yeah, that's right. Bubbles is my name, you are Flamer, right?"

"Yep." Flamer opened up his rucksack that he had been given, pulling out his new zap piston, a pad of paper, a few pens of different colors, a pair of boots, gloves, a flashlight and a wool blanket. He looked up when he noticed that Bubbles was studying him.

"Flamer, I have to ask, where did you get that scar?"

"Umm… Doing the laundry?" Bubbles rolled her eyes and shoved him onto his cot. "Alright, okay. I was with Zap, harvesting berries near the small lake that we passed way back there near HTC, remember?"

"Yeah?" Bubbles rolled over on her cot to be nearer to him.

"Well, we were too involved talking, that we didn't notice four hungry sheargrubs sneaking up from behind towards him. One lashed out, and Zap fell into this oddly shaped rut and couldn't get out."

"Whoa, how'd you get out of there?"

"He was stuck, so I took on the sheargrubs myself. They struck first unfortunately." He pointed to the scar

"You? Alone? I've heard that those things can wipe out a small squadron if they're hungry enough!" Flamer blushed profusely. But since he was already red, she did not know.

"I guess they weren't hungry then." he simply replied. "We have about ten minutes before training begins, wake me up okay?" and with that, he fell asleep.

Bubbles returned to her diary entry she had previously been working on.

_Yes, Flamer defiantly has potential; he took on four sheargrubs himself! No, I do not have a crush on him!_

_So we share a tent now huh? No more privacy I guess. He seems nice enough though, so I don't think that I will mind the company._

_I hope we don't have to do the obstacle course today, though it is good training, it gets REALLY tiring after a while. Last time I fell off the rope, and had to get stitches, because I landed on a jagged rock. I still have the scar, right there on my back. I suppose that's something I have in common with my tentmate, huh?_

_Forever yours,_

_Bubbles_

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Zap

"Hey! Why do I get the cot by the door?" Zap whined. He had just moved in, and the big purple lug, Clyde, was shoving his cot as far out the door as possible while still being considered 'in the tent'

"Tough luck shorty, I was here first. You want to fight for it?" Clyde loomed over the yellow; he was more than three times Zap's size!

"N-no. That's okay…" Zap curled up under his blanket. 'I hope Flamer is doing better than I am.'

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Later on in the week; Smog

Smog ran on his little legs to the relay line and back, where he tagged Zap, who ran to the line, where he was trampled by Clyde.

'Ouch, but at least we aren't doing an obstacle course,' thought Smog as he called and cheered for Zap.

"You okay buddy?" called Flamer

"Yeah, great." He stated as he limped back to the line to start the next task. The day wasn't going so great so far. Clyde had stolen some of Zap's and Smog's breakfast, the 'shower' (An elevated barrel of water with a spigot) had gone cold halfway through, and now grueling training! It was their fifth day out from HTC, and Smog was finally getting used to the two new members.

The commander strutted to the front of the line and held up his hand. The troop became silent as he began to speak. "Next, we shall have a teamwork race. Around the Bog, through the tunnel, along the berry patch, through the prickle field, and over that cliff face along the shore, then return here. The path is marked out for you. The team with the last member over the line gets no dinner. MOVE!!"

They sprinted off, covering as much ground as possible in a short amount of time. Smog, Flamer and Zap were on one team, and Bubbles and Clyde were on a team with a small red pikmin called Rugburn. There were eight other teams, three on each, for there were thirty pikmin in the troop. Clyde, who was the slowest, pushed and shoved Zap, trying to slow him down.

"Cut it out!" Smog slammed into him, and Clyde fell into the bog as they were passing. Rugburn pulled him out with some difficulty, and they fell behind. Smog, Flamer and Zap were in ninth, because of Clyde. The other eight teams were way ahead.

"Bubbles, help me up!" called Rugburn, as the entrance to the cave was up on a stone slab. Smog's team was already inside. Bubbles boosted him up, and they both struggled to lift Clyde up as well. They finally succeeded and entered the cave

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Zap

"Left! Right! Umm… Left!" Zap read the map with his flashlight. They ran through the cool and dark cave, the other teams were way ahead. Suddenly, Zap tripped on a rock and dropped the map into a small pool of water on the floor. It sank to the bottom.

"ZAP!!" Both his teammates yelled. "Sorry…" they ran through the cave, and became completely lost.

"This is great, which way do we go now?" Flamer looked around and saw a faint light along the left wall. "That way!"

They managed to get out of the cave before Bubble's team, and jogged along the berry patch. Zap noticed that Bubble's team had exited the cave and was coming up fast. "RUN!!"

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ouch ow ouch ow ow ow" Flamer's team had reached the prickle field, and in an attempt to catch up to the other 8 teams, cut through it.

"Maybe ow this ow was ouch a bad ow idea" pointed out Smog at they ran along.

"No, ouch you think?" Zap noticed that their plan had backfired; the field was slowing them down! As they ran out, Bubble's team caught up to them.

"Race ya!" yelled Zap at Clyde, and he laughed evilly when the purple lug fell over flat on his face.

Rugburn was the first over the cliff, followed closely by Smog and Zap. Flamer was the next to climb.

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Bubbles

Flamer froze at the top; Bubbles climbed up next to him, and was about to climb down the other side, when she noticed him mumbling with a horrified expression on his face.

"W-w-wa-w-w-wat-wa-w-WATER!! Flamer keeled over, and unfortunately fell head first down the side of the cliff. Fortunately, he missed the pointy rocks at the bottom. Unfortunately, he fell into the water which rippled aide to allow him passage. He sank like a stone to the bottom, unmoving.

"FLAMER!!" screamed Bubbles, as terror seized her.

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And if you look up, you can see a cliffhanger. Please Review. Again.

-SkippingZombie


	3. Rescue

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 3

Red pikmin cannot swim. As a matter of fact, only blue pikmin can. Most blues have gills, allowing them to stay underwater for indefinite periods of time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Bubbles

She stared in horror at the place where Flamer had disappeared in the waves. It made sense that he was afraid of the water, many pikmin are, but why did he have to fall into the middle of the pointy circle of rocks below? Bubbles considered her chances of rescuing him successfully, and came to a painful conclusion. The chances of both of them escaping uninjured was about even to the chance that they would have chocolate éclairs and pineapple smoothies for dinner. She decided to take those odds.

Clyde had just reached the top as he watched her dive straight into the water. He was panting horribly, and collapsed in a heap on top, unable to move.

"Crazy… (Wheezecoughhack) Moron…"

She swam fiercely down to the bottom, and tried to lift the unconscious pikmin, but his left leg and his stem were tangled in seaweed. She franticly tore away these horrid bonds, which had stolen him away from the open air. Try as she might, she could not get his stem free. She swam up to the surface and filled her burning lungs, then returned to the depths.

By now she was panicking, what would happen if she could not free him? But luck was with her, and she tore away the bonds on his stem. It was then she remembered that his leg was still caught. She returned to the surface once more, before diving back down.

She saw red as she ripped the weeds to pieces, finally releasing him from his prison. She pulled him up to the surface where she struggled to stay afloat with his new weight.

Heading for shore was not an option, she was having enough trouble treading where she was. She somehow made it to a flat rock a few feet away, and laid him upon it. She began chest compressions, and as she blew life into his lungs he awoke, coughing up water.

Bubbles looked around, and heaved sigh of relief that nobody had been watching. She didn't need anyone knowing her secret.

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Flamer (1st person view)

I awoke to the melodic voice of someone familiar, Bubbles. She held me in her arms, with a very concerned look on her face.

"Flamer?" I managed a groan and blinked a few times before I remembered what had happened. I nearly fainted realizing where we were. A rock… IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WATER!! I forced my immediate fear down, I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of Bubbles. Especially since she was a blue pikmin. Those blue pikmin are all really good swimmers, mostly because they have gills. It must have been easy for her to come to my rescue.

I tried to sit up, but I fell back after I realized how much my chest hurt. I tried once more and managed to struggle to my shaking feet. Bubbles hugged me happily and I hugged her back. I then realized that she had saved me using the breath of life! WAIT! That meant that she had just touched my lips with her own…

She helped me along some of the smoother rocks to the side of the cliff that I had recently fallen from. "Remind me to sue this thing," I muttered, and she giggled.

"I see your sense of humor hasn't suffered much!" I love that laugh of hers…

We began climbing up the winding vines on the side of the cliff. Well, I admit I had to rely on Bubbles' help, but we somehow made it to the top. We ignored Clyde, and with her help, we limped to the finish line.

Zap was the first at my side, and then came Smog and the camp doctor.

"Flamer! You're okay! I saw your fall, but Smog can't swim so we ran to get help…"

"You can't swim either, Zap!" Smog replied, knocking him over the head with a roll of bandages. "Now move so the doc can work!"

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30 minutes later

Smog

Smog hurried along with Zap, Bubbles and Rugburn to the medical tents, the medics hadn't let them in to see their friend until now. Flamer was propped up against the makeshift headboard of a cot in the corner with bandages wrapped along his left leg and on his stem.

"Flamer!" They ran to him and Bubbles grabbed him in a hug.

"Good to see you too," he replied happily. "The doc says I'll need to stay here for the night, until we pack up tomorrow to leave for Buggy Hills, as the captains have been calling our destination. Unexplored territory…"

"How are you feeling?" Rugburn piped up. This was the first time Smog had heard him speak since the race. The two were good friends, and had trained together for the troop. Rugburn was very shy, but he was also very friendly. He was glad everyone was getting along. Except for Clyde anyway…

Speaking of which, Clyde had finally crossed the finish line moments before, and everyone(except Flamer) were ordered to report to the dinner tent in ten minutes.

"My leg is bruised badly and I'm gonna get another scar next to the one I already have on my stem, but I'm feeling better now that you came to see me."

Bubbles let him out of her hug. "They wouldn't let us see you until now, and we have to leave soon for dinner, want us to bring you some?"

"Nah, if I understand the commander of our troop correctly, he won't let you and Rugburn have any dinner, so you go ahead and split mine."

The five pikmin chatted for a few more minutes, Bubbles discussing how she got her scar on her back, about the trip to the Buggy hills tomorrow, and about the rumor of the ancient race of pikmin, with the old language.

"You mean you know the old language of pikmin? The language we used when Lord Olimar was here?"

Bubbles nodded "I'm the only one in our regiment, troop forty-five. But I'm sure that there are others who know it in the other forty-nine troops!"

The doctor came in just then, and asked them to head to dinner. They waved goodbye to Flamer, and promised that they would check on him first thing in the morning. Then they headed off towards the smell of chocolate éclairs and pineapple smoothies.

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Bubbles (Later that night)

_Dear Diary,_

_It seems lonelier in the tent without Flamer. I was just getting used to him too…_

_Dinner was delicious, and nothing has really changed. Except for the fact that I saved Flamer from drowning today! That's right, I am a true hero. But he's gonna get another scar, or so he says… I wonder how many he will have by the end of this journey…_

_ Still yours, Bubbles_

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What think? Please review after every chapter so I know how I'm doing!

Who is your favorite character? Any ideas?

The One And Only

SZ


	4. Buggy Hills

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 4

What lies in store for the army of pikmin? Will these strange little creatures be able to wipe their continent of those beasts which have hunted them for so long?

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Smog (1st person)

We left the camp just after sunrise on the sixth day, heading off to the unknown. Well, pikmin have been there, but it is not charted. Although the danger siren I felt go off in my head like a herd of Bulborbs screaming at the top of their lungs gave me a headache, Rugburn reassured me that an army of this size was a very formidable foe against even the Bulborb Grand Emperor. With 50 regiments, 29 pikmin in each except for ours, we've got 30 pikmin; we have quite a large force.

The General of our regiment of 30 measly pikmin actually allowed Bubbles, Zap, Rugburn and I to ride in the medical Wagon along with Flamer. It turned out that he would need to stay in the wagon for a few more days, something about a pulled ligament.

Bubbles says that I'm just being a worrywart about the upcoming battle. She says that I'm always too negative. Well… maybe I am. I can't help it that I'm not brave like Flamer, or almost completely carefree like Zap. I am who I am.

We spent the next couple of hours talking about random things. Flamer told the story of how he had rescued Zap from certain death; Zap talked about his newfound love, the toaster. Flamer tried to get Zap to tell us how he had somehow managed to get caught under a ten pellet, but he refused. I told about the time I had been thrown from an onion during takeoff. Flamer was just about to tell us about his and Zap's training at Elcowitz, when the wagon abruptly halted.

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Zap

The wagon lurched to a stop as everyone heard shouts from the front ranks, about 100 meters ahead of the medical cart. Zap hopped off, and turned to see a huge battle occurring right in front of them. He stood shocked for a moment; the Red Bulborbs were smashing through the first regiment! Were they already to Buggy Hills? He looked, and sure enough, behind the battle, the hills lurked, taller than 5 onions on top of one another.

He snapped back to reality as his regiment ran by to join the fight. He quickly explained to Bubbles and Smog, and woke Rugburn. Their Commander shouted as soon as they left the wagon. "Circle to the left! Get behind them!! Meet by the large boulder shaped like a toaster!!"

They sprang into action. The four of them ran after everyone else and arrived rather quickly. The first half of the regiment ran for the closest Bulborb. The second half were about to follow, but suddenly the ground under them erupted, and a GIANT Burrowing Snagret popped up. It gave a furious yell and shook its feathers. Some of the feathers fell into the dark hole it had made burrowing upwards. The four friends would have turned to face it, but they realized that they were now falling into the newly opened tunnel, into the deep, dark and unknown.

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Bubbles (1st person)

The tunnel was very deep, and everyone was screaming and wailing as they went down. I recognized Rugburn's high-pitched scream, but I did not know where the other two were. I landed on something soft, fortunately, but others were not so lucky.

It is amazing what goes through the mind after and during a shocking moment. The first thought I had was: What did I land on? The second was: Boy it is dark down here. I stood up and felt around. I realized that I had landed on a Snagret feather. Zap was helping Smog to his feet, and Rugburn was checking his limbs to see if he was okay. Three other pikmin were muttering nearby, and five or six more were groaning around me. But my eyes fell upon an unmoving figure ahead of me. A purple lump lay in the middle of the room, with a blue lump halfway beneath it. It was a purple laying on top of a blue.

Clyde.

No way. I would not believe it. That big jerk couldn't be… dead, could he? I slowly moved towards the huge lump. Step by step, my heart beat faster. I held my breath as I reached him. I cautiously reached out and began to feel for a pulse.

I couldn't find one.

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Reviewing is good for me. Please do so.

-SZ


	5. Dark

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 5

Snagrets we ain't. Amen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Zap (1st person)

No way… Clyde couldn't be dead that easily… I closed and rubbed my eyes, and looked again, but he was still there. I may have hated him more than anything else I've encountered on this journey so far, but… He didn't deserve to _die_…

And even in dying, he was the biggest jerk I'd ever seen. After my eyes adjusted better to the dim cavern, I saw that the blue lump under him was a crushed blue pikmin…

He had apparently tried to break his fall…

Bubbles (1st person)

I stood back to see the graves we had dug. Since we could not carry the bodies, (eww…) we buried them right there. They were little more than piles of stones, but it was better than nothing.

The Blue pikmin and Clyde were both buried in the light streaming down from the tunnel we had fallen from.

"Well… should we stay and wait longer for help, or move along and try to find a way out?" I turned and looked at Smog, who had spoken.

"There is no way I'm staying here!" I walked over to a small crawlspace at one side of the cave. "This must lead to the surface somehow!"

"Plus, even if they were looking for us, could they get down here, and get back up after?" Rugburn added, then he followed me into the crawlspace.

They must have agreed, because everyone else followed, and we crawled onwards.

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Flamer

He awoke to the cries of battle, and tried to get up, but then he remembered he couldn't, so he just hung out, waiting and wondering.

'I hope they others are okay,' he thought as he laid back down. 'I'm sure they can handle themselves, at least, I'm pretty sure…'

He thought about the time he had saved Zap from certain death, and rubbed his scar. He wished that he could be with them, whatever was happening out there. He called to the nurse that was up front of the cart.

"HEY! WHAT"S GOING ON OUT THERE!! YOU!! NURSE!!"

"Shhhhhhhhhh!!" She appeared after a few moments. "We've run into a pack of Bulborbs! Over 3 dozen of them! But don't even think about looking! You stay in bed!" She wandered off and Flamer was alone again.

'So, the first major battle and I have to sit out? That's not fair!' He sighed and returned to thinking about his friends. He had never seen any of them in an actual battle, but they had been training for it for quite some time, he knew. How long had it been since he left home? About a week now?

So much had already happened, and this was only the beginning…

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Smog (1st person)

We emerged in a room about as big as the pond back home. Not very small, but not too big either. Rugburn was gasping for air as we came out, most likely because he suffers from claustrophobia.

The room was bare except for a narrow passage that led slightly upwards, so we followed it, being the only way we could go.

Suddenly, there was a huge quake, and stalactites began raining down upon us. We ran full speed ahead, where we found to our dismay, a large albino wollywog.

It turned towards us, and hopped up, and smashed down, I wasn't certain if anyone was hit, because I was flung by the quake to the opposite side of the tunnel, where I crashed headfirst into the wall. I was stunned, and was too dazed to move, but from here I had a great view of the battle.

Bubbles (being a sub leader, leading when the captain isn't around, just like me, but I couldn't move) commanded the group around to fight from behind. They attacked as best they could, but the force was too small. It hopped again, and smashed down in the middle of the pikmin.

In this instant, two things happened.

One, a large number of pikmin were pounded into the dirt, to everyone's horror.

Two, another rain of stalactites rained down, one of which pierced right through the wollywog, instantly killing it.

I began to regain feeling in my body and slowly made my way over to Bubbles, who was on the verge of tears. Then we both spotted something that made even my eyes well up. Rugburn's arms were both pinned under the wollywog and he was shocked so much, he could not feel the pain. Rugburn was not even aware of his surroundings. Then he fell unconscious.

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Zap

I threw up even before I knew it was coming up my throat. All over the floor. The remaining pikmin were crying silently. I gritted my teeth and counted the remaining pikmin. There was Bubbles and Smog, myself and two other unharmed pikmin, a blue and a white. Then there was… Rugburn.

We worked together to roll the wollywog off of Rugburn. I helped Smog remove his armor, and we lifted him up, and over to a small pool of water, where Bubbles and the other blue pikmin were administrating first aid.

"Spout, do we have anything we can use as splints?" I realized She was talking to the other blue, who shook his head. "Smog, Zap, Toxin, Go see what materials you can find. I went off with the two whites, looking for anything we could use to help Rugburn.

He had better be okay…

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Whoa! Twisted! What will happen next? Tell me what you think! Hit that shiny review button!

-SkippingZombie and SkippingZombie productions


	6. Hope

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 6

Hooray! This is officially the 6th part of my awesome story! Thank you to all of my readers, and a bigger thank you to those who reviewed!! Oh, and of course, thank you to the pikmin! PARTY TIME!!

(Hands out hundreds of thousands of cookies to everybody)

Oh yeah, I've decided to use first person from now on, unless indicated, because I enjoy impersonating my characters!

(Mob of pikmin carry SZ back to keyboard to begin the 6th chapter!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Flamer

I rolled around on the cot for what felt like hours, but I could not sleep. Something was telling me that my friends were in danger; I wished that I could go and help them, but I couldn't even stand on my own two legs.

I looked around the tiny room that I was in. This cart was one of the many medical carts, and space was very limited. There were 2 other cots in the room, on my right. All three cots were right next to each other. I had a feeling that we were going to need them soon…

My eyes fell on a pile of bandages in the corner, and underneath them all was an abandoned crutch.

YES! It was the perfect size too! I rolled over both the other cots and grabbed my new makeshift leg. It took me a few minutes to learn how to use it properly, but I managed to figure it out.

I made my way to the back of the cart, which was little more than a large wooden platform jutting out from the vehicle, and I worked my way to the end of it. I sat down and used my good leg to steady myself as I slid to the ground below me. I began to hobble around the cart to take a look at the battle that was still raging.

I looked past a few dozen more wagons; some supply, some medical, and saw a few hundred yards ahead, what seemed like hundreds of red Bulborbs. Around them there were even more Bulborbs that had already been beaten, and the pikmin army had them surrounded. More pikmin were standing than injured. But then I noticed that over half of my regiment was missing. I looked over at the wounded that were being moved to the medical carts, they weren't there either!

I began to panic, where could they be? That's when I noticed a dead Burrowing Snagret near the first hill. I hurried over towards it.

When I was about halfway there I saw the tunnel that it had come from and in the tunnel…

I noticed several handprints, leading all the way down into the darkness. It was as if my regiment clawed their way down. Darker than the darkest night. Darker than the murky depths of the lake I nearly drowned in. Darker than… Dark. It was Super-Dark.

I had no doubt; this was where they had gone. I grabbed a feather from the fallen beast, some vines from the hillside, which I coiled around myself, and jumped into that pit of Super-Dark darkness.

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Smog

We continued walking for what seemed like hours. As far as we new, it had been. It wasn't 'till much later that we learned it had only been 15 minutes.

Rugburn finally woke back up, and began to scream. Not from pain though, he was calling for help. He was much braver than I had ever given him credit for. We had known each other since we had begun our training, but he had never been this seriously hurt before.

I seriously doubted that anyone would hear him, but nobody said anything, because we were silently hoping also.

We came out of the tunnel into another room filled with flowers and leaves. This room was the largest yet; you could walk around the perimeter probably twice and the day would be over! The ceiling was open, but way too high for us to reach. We were on a high ledge overlooking most of the room. I thought I saw something scurry away into the foliage, but I told myself that I had imagined it. Zap suggested we take a break, and had to repeat himself, because Rugburn canceled out his words. We agreed, and Toxin and I set Rugburn down on the softest bed of petals we could find. Spout found a pool of water, so we all had something to drink.

I was afraid that we would never get out of the cave, and I was terrified when I realized why Zap had suggested we stop. Nowhere in the room could we see another tunnel. This was the last room. I shivered horridly, and Bubbles came over to me.

"What's wrong Smog?"

Oh nothing, we're just going to be stuck in here for the rest of our lives.

"Just a b-bit cold, that's all…"

She looked at me one last time and I thought for sure she had figured it out, but she only shrugged and went over to Rugburn, finally quieting him down.

I realized our only hope was Flamer. We needed his attitude. Anyone else would have given up, assuming that we had been eaten, but he wouldn't give up so easily. He would find a way to track us down, whether or not he had an injury.

He was probably already on his way.

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Flamer

The feather worked quite well as a parachute, and I landed on my good leg, completely unharmed.

"Thank you my fine fluffy friend," I said aloud, although nobody was there to hear me.

The room wasn't that unusual, a few piles of rocks here and there, a few feathers, but I saw many footprints leading to a crawl-hole on one side of the room.

It was difficult, but I managed to work my way through, leaving only my feather behind

Beyond it, I saw a gruesome site. A dead wollywog, and several lumps of dirt that I knew were graves. I hobbled quickly by, trying to convince myself that my friends were okay.

Bodies can't bury themselves. Someone had to have buried them…

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There you have it, the sixth chapter. All right, party's over, everyone out!

Till next time,

SkippingZombie (AKA the 'REVIEW NOW' demon)


	7. Discovery

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 7

Note: _Italics are pikmin speaking in the ancient pikmin language._

Lets start the chapter shall we? Right here we go…

SYNTAX ERROR

What? Let's try that again…

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Flamer

I went as fast as I could down that tunnel, stopping occasionally to catch my breath, but it never seemed to end…

In the pit of my stomach, I knew something had gone horribly wrong…

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Bubbles

If only Flamer were here, he'd know what to do. Zap and Smog are probably thinking the same thing. Rugburn fell back unconscious shortly after he stopped yelling for help. I've dedicated my time to searching the room for any way out.

Suddenly, I heard movement to my left. Instinctively, I moved my hand to my zap piston as I moved cautiously towards the noise. To my surprise, a pair of beady eyes was looking back at me! I froze as it took a step forward into the light.

It was a Pikmin! It was a bit shorter than usual, and as green as the plants around it. Looking confused, it spoke in the ancient pikmin tongue.

"_Who are you? I've never seen a blue pikmin before. Why are you here?"_

Regaining my courage, I spoke back. _"We fell down a shaft, we are looking for a way out. I'm Bubbles, who are you?_

_"I am called Bud of Summer, you may call me Bud."_

_"Do live here Bud? Is there a way out?"_

_"I have never been higher than this cavern, my friend says it a giant world out there. I live in the community house, 3 levels below where we are. Recently we were attacked by a squad of Dwarf Bulborbs, and most of the women and children fled."_

_"Would you like to meet my friends, over there?" _I gestured to the others.

_"Are they friendly?"_

_"Yes, but they cannot speak Pikmin old."_

_"What do they speak? I did not know there were different pikmin languages. I did not even realize there were anyone besides the green colony and the white colony, who left for the surface way before I was born, many years ago in fact."_

We walked towards the small group of pikmin near the tunnel.

"What? A green pikmin? I never realized there could be other colonies…" Zap muttered softly, amazed at what he saw. Zap then whispered something to Spout and they both chuckled softly. I missed the humor in the situation.

Bud's eyes fell on Rugburn however, who was still unconscious. A confused look crossed her face as she looked from one pikmin to the next.

_"Why have you not healed him?! He needs immediate help!!"_

_"How? He was hurt, I know, but we have no bandages… How can we help him?"_

_"You mean, you cannot heal him? Let me try then."_

A slightly puzzled Bud leaned down, and her fingers began to glow as she began to chant.

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Rugburn

What's going on… This pain… unbearable… I hear voices calling to me… but… struggle as I may I cannot answer… is someone… holding me under… or am I really… so… weak that I can't… open my eyes… So much pain… My dear friends… if I don't make it… out of here alive… I'm sorry… I tried my… hardest…

No… I will cling to my sanity. I will… I will fight forever. I am going to find and save myself from… this darkness. I will regain my strength. It tickles, my legs… are not hurting as much…

"Sm… Smog… Zap… Bub…bles…"

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Bubbles

I watched amazed at what Bud was doing. Without any supplies, she was able to slow the bleeding, and close parts of the wound!

Rugburn then muttered something, I didn't really understand it, but he was regaining conciousness at last!

"He's waking up!" Zap and Toxin said at once. I grinned, Rugburn would be okay. Bud then spoke to me.

_"I did what I could, but he needs to get those legs healed up, there are some herbs near my onion I could use to make a potion that would speed the healing, but like I said, we were attacked by Bulborbs. I wish for someone comfortable underground to come with me."_

I translated this to my friends.

Smog stepped forward. "I'll go with you. Toxin, Zap and Spout should be able to find a way to get Rugburn out of here. Bubbles, would you like to accompany us? After all you're the only one who can translate."

I quickly told Bud the plan, and after convincing her to put on Rugburn's body armor and zap piston, we set out towards to hole in the ground that Bud led us to. We took a deep breath and descended.

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Flamer

I finally saw light ahead of me. I wished silently that my friends were okay. When I first saw that there were only 4 pikmin there, I nearly cried thinking of Bubbles. But as Zap saw me, we rejoiced about being reunited. He then told me what had happened, and the amazing discoveries they had made. But most importantly, he informed me that Bubbles and Smog were okay.

"Here, I grabbed this length of vine before I leapt into this hole. We can have someone climb the wall and attach it to the opening in the ceiling."

"I'm a great climber!" Spout nearly shouted, and he snatched the end of the vine and began to climb the wall.

"I'm going after Bubbles." I stated suddenly

"Huh? Flamer, I'm sure they will be fine on their own…" But Zap knew it was hopeless to try and change my mind. So I found where Bubbles went down, took a deep breath, and entered the cave within the cave.

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Ta-da! What do you think? Make sure you review, you wouldn't want to hurt my feelings, would you? Tell me what your favorite character is, and give me any suggestions you have! If you have questions, contact me through private messaging!

-SZ


	8. Upward

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 8

Note: _Italics are pikmin speaking in the ancient pikmin language._

It (was) more than a year since I wrote the last chapter. All of the data on the computer I had been using was deleted when I shocked it after walking across my carpet. On a whim, on Sunday the 13th of January 2008, I searched the back up memory, and sure enough, I was able to recover my data and transfer it back to my account. I am now known as SkippingZombie, but this legend shall live on!

Okay pikmin, let's roll.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not.

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Zap

Spout was defiantly a good climber. He scaled what neither Toxin nor I ever could in less than an hour. He nearly fell once, but he kept on going. Toxin, Rugburn and I looked on with envy. The view must have been amazing! This underground cave had an open hole in the ceiling so light could get in and feed the plants that grew in massive amounts in the center of the enormous room. I asked Spout if he could see any other way out, but he yelled that the walls were solid all around the chamber, save for the small crawlspace we had emerged from earlier.

I tried to estimate how big the room was compared to us. It seemed that it would take six thousand pikmin holding hands to encompass the chamber.

Spout tossed down the makeshift rope. Toxin went up first, holding Rugburn's torso with one arm, while climbing with the other. I followed on the bottom side, spotting Rugburn as he climbed without the use of his legs. It took a really long time, and I had to steady Rugburn twice or so, but we made it. We were now standing on a sort of plateau above the drop-off into the cave. In every direction around us, there were mountains.

"Why, we're in the center of Buggy Hills!" commented an astonished Toxin.

"At least we aren't in the middle of something buggy." I said, trying without success to lighten the mood.

The mood definitely did not get lighter when Rugburn said: "Not yet anyway."

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Bubbles

"_We're nearly there Bubbles, Smog"_ Bud pointed to a strange root-like bridge leading over a deep chasm in the rock floor. We had climbed down a ladder to get to the level below the one that the pit in the flower room led to, and Bud confirmed that the floor just below us was our destination. It was very dark down here, and I had a hard time seeing very far. I could just barely see another ladder just across the pit leading down to the home of the Green pikmin.

I turned to Smog. "Almost there, across the bridge, down the ladder."

Smog turned to look at Bud. "I wish I could understand what you were saying myself."

"What? I can't translate well enough for you?" I snapped at him.

"No, its not that, I just think the old language sounds kind of neat, all those harmonious tones and whatnot…"

I stared at him for a moment, and then said, "Would you like me to teach you?"

He stared back bewildered. "Really? Would you?"

"Sure" I shrugged and turned back to the bridge we were about to cross. Smog hesitated a moment, and looked at me. "Is it safe?"

I asked Bud this question. She nodded slowly and then said, "_This bridge is made from one of the strongest plant roots to be found, it is sure to hold us. It has served as a bridge for my people for a hundred years. We carved it out of a still living root of a large plant on the surface."_

I translated this for Smog, and he replied, "That must be one heck of a plant." I told this to Bud, and she laughed.

"_On the other side of Buggy Hills, I am told by some of those who went there; there are plants that are unimaginably tall. Almost as tall as the mountains that hides them from this side."_

I whistled, impressed by this. The Buggy hills were one of the tallest land formations I had ever seen; they must be as tall as fifty onions! I was about to translate this to Smog, when the three of us heard a noise back the way we had come.

"Hey! Bubbles! Smog!"

We all turned and were shocked to see none other than-

"FLAMER!!" I couldn't help myself, I ran and embraced Flamer in a full-body hug that sent him sprawling to the ground.

"YAAAAAAGH!!" Flamer rolled out my clutch clutching his leg.

"_Who is this, Bubbles?" _asked a concerned Bud "_You need to take it easy on that leg of his; he's torn some major muscle tissue." _She added as she examined Flamer. Smog and I watched her work her magic, and in a few brief moments, Flamer couldn't feel the pain anymore, the pain was masked by her strange ability.

"_He needs to take it easy on that leg, if I can get those herbs we are looking to find, he should be better in about a week."_

"_Thank you Bud. He tore his ligament when he almost drowned."_

"_Drowned?"_

An angry Flamer interrupted their conversation. "Jeez Bubbles! I came all this way to find you, managed to get down the hole, run and crawl through a tunnel, jump down another hole, climb down a ladder and all without hurting my leg. Then you had to go and ruin my lucky streak." He struggled back to his feet with the help of Smog. He then turned to the green pikmin "Who is this? Zap told me that you had found someone new down here."

I ignored him for a moment, too embarrassed to speak with him. I turned to Bud and explained about Flamer and how he had nearly drowned in a race during our training. I told her how I had saved him and how he had been confined to a medical wagon.

"Yeah, and I would be there still if I hadn't snuck out to come and find you guys." Flamer retrieved his crutch and turned to Bud. _"I should probably be in a medical wagon about now."_

"Wait, what? You can speak the old pikmin language?!" I was shocked. I never would have guessed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask." Flamer shrugged this off. "I found your trail in the pit and followed it, if you are wondering how I managed to find you."

"At least the army won't leave without us now. I was worried they would give us up for dead! What was their reaction when you told them that half of troop 45 fell down this hole? Where are the other search party members?" Smog looked at Flamer questioningly.

"Umm… I didn't exactly tell anyone else that I found your trail." Flamer admitted. When he saw that Smog was about to sock him, he added, "I snuck out remember? Besides, I brought a makeshift rope for Zap and the others to use to get out; they can tell the commander where we got to."

"If they can find where everyone else is," muttered Smog under his breath.

"Don't be so negative Smog," I said.

"You still need to introduce me to your new friend Bubbles." Flamer hinted."

"_Flamer, this is Bud of Summer." _I explained everything to Flamer in the old pikmin language, so Bud could add in her own story.

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Flamer, "Let's go!"

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Flamer

I had finally caught up to Bubbles and Smog, and I was relieved to see that neither appeared to be injured. With them was a strange looking pikmin.

She was green, and hardly taller than Smog, but her most noticeable feature was her large eyes. Actually, it wasn't the eyes themselves that were large, it was her pupils. They took up most of each of her eyes, and it seemed that she could see really well. Bubbles and I could see limitedly, since we had been underground for so long. Smog could see very well, white pikmin have adapted night vision.

Apparently, Bubbles and Smog had decided to help Bud fight off the dozen or so dwarf bulborbs that had infested her colony. In exchange, she was going to provide the medicine herbs needed to make Rugburn recover faster. The three of us weren't very worried about the bulborbs, our zap pistons were designed to render them unconscious, or kill them if necessary. I had forgotten my armor plate back in the medical wagon, however, and since I had hurt my leg, Bubbles declared that she and Smog would be doing all the fighting.

"I still think I should help." I muttered as we finished crossing the root bridge.

"You are in no condition to fight Flamer," Bubbles glared at me in the dark, "Smog and I have much better training than you anyway."

"Whatever. Let's just get those herbs and get out of here. Who knows what else is lurking in these tunnels." Smog stated. I shivered thinking about the Bulborb Grand Emperor that Bubbles had told me so many rumors about back at camp. What if we ran into him? What chance did we have? I shook my head and concentrated on the path in front of me. It seemed to get even darker as we climbed down the last ladder, me with some difficulty.

"Stay quiet, _Stay quiet" _said Bubbles in a hushed whisper, and she and Smog slipped of into the dark to hunt down the dwarf bulborbs.

I knew I could have helped them. I had once taken on four sheargrubs by myself! Bubbles was a stubborn girl however, so I knew I would have to stay put.

I wished them good luck in my head, and sat down next to Bud to wait.

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Smog

Bubbles and I doubled checked that our armor was in place correctly as we snuck silently through the gloom. We readied our zap pistons and walked in a crouched and ready position. We walked for almost five minutes before we spotted the wooden homes of the green pikmin. The three dozen of dwellings filled the vast cavern. Bud had told us on the way down that her home was home to 200 or so pikmin, but the fifty or so warriors were off hunting for food in another cavern, so the remaining pikmin had barred their homes, and had sent Bud to find the hunters. Instead, Bud had made a wrong turn in her hurry to find help and ended up in the top chamber. She hardly traveled the tunnels, so she was unfamiliar with them.

We heard, and then spotted four of the bulborbs clustered around a low wall. On the other side, a green pikmin was crouched in a corner. The bulborbs were trying to get inside the fence to devour this pikmin. The bulborbs were making a ruckus trying to climb over the stone wall. We swiftly fell in behind them, and felled the first two instantly. By the time the remaining two had turned around, they were floored by the massive electrical current that Bubble and I applied.

I still didn't know why I agreed to come on this rescue mission. I suppose it was partly because she had healed Rugburn, and we sort of owed her. I grudgingly thought about how the others were still in the open cavern upstairs. I doubted that they would escape in time to warn the commander that we had survived. They whole army was probably going to mistake us for dead, and move on to some other place. Then the rest of us would be trapped behind-

Wait a second; didn't Bubbles say that there had been people in her community that had been on the surface before? There must be a way to get out then! My spirit instantly went up. We might make it after all!

Bubbles found another bulborb on the other side of the wall we were standing near. After putting this one down, Bubbles helped me over the wall, and then climbed over herself. We approached the green pikmin that was now curiously examining us. It said something in the old pikmin language, and Bubbles answered. They had a short conversation, and then Bubbles turned to me.

"He thanks us for saving him. He says his name is Viper, and he says that the other seven bulborbs fell into the pit trap the village prepared, just in case they were invaded. He asked us to put them down"

"Fine with me. At least we didn't have to go toe to toe with any of them."

Viper led us to the edge of the village, almost exactly opposite of the way we came in, and showed us the deep pit. Bubbles and I took turns hurling large rocks at the beasts until they were all dead. Viper even helped with one.

My spirits soared when I saw a passage off to the left of where we stood, it seemed to lead up. I asked Bubbles to ask Viper where that led. They exchanged words, and she said:

"He says it leads to two paths. One leads deeper into the underground, the other is a steep passage to a cliff edge, outside."

I took that word in. Outside. It sounded so wonderful.

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Wow! That was a long chapter! I really like how it is working out though! Please review! I need reviews! Must have reviews! Why are there so many exclamation points!

-SkippingZombie!


	9. Chapter 9

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 9

Note: _Italics are pikmin speaking in the ancient pikmin language._

INTRODUCING THE MAN WHO NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION

SKIPPINGZOMBIE!!

(Mob of pikmin goes wild and throws confetti at SkippingZombie as he runs to the keyboard)

(SkippingZombie quickly devours two homemade egg-ham-cheese English Muffins, cracks his knuckles, and begins to type.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not. If I did, we would be up to Pikmin 5 by now.

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Smog

Viper thanked us again for saving him, and the three of us were soon joined by Flamer and Bud, who had made their way over to us.

We talked for a few minutes about our triumph, and we learned about the tunnel leading up and out of Buggy Hills, back to our camp. The five of us were just about to go and tell the pikmin that were barricaded in their houses that it was all clear-

If only it had been that simple. Of course something had to go wrong. Instead of us being welcomed as heroes by the green pikmin, and being delivered back into the safety of our encampment-

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Flamer

A gut-wrenching roar went up from the bowels of the cave. Something below us had become very angry. A few moments later, the green pikmin army ran back up from their hiding place beneath the living area. They had been out hunting shearwigs in the depths when they had awoken an absolute monster. No green pikmin alive could stand the thought of the beast. It was towering.

It had a hide that was all but impenetrable; no damage could be done in hand to hand fighting.

As the Bulborb Grand Emperor emerged from the cave opening to the left of where we five frightened pikmin stood, the green pikmin army scattered. They were not used to fighting anything so massive, so enormous that it could barely squeeze after them. The tunnel was very big itself. This bulborb could have eaten everyone in the village.

Unfortunately, the pit trap that was originally designed to trap the beast was now too small to encompass it. The last time the Grand Emperor had found its way into the village had been two years ago. Plus the trap had already been triggered by some lesser bulborbs.

The Grand Emperor roared once again, and both Bud and Viper sought shelter behind a nearby wall surrounding a house.

The room was now vacant of apparent pikmin snacks for the bulborb, save for the three of us that stood to the left of the beast. The Grand Emperor lunged for me, being the easiest target.

Time slowed down as he approached. I couldn't move.

My crutch fell out from under me and I collapsed into a kneeling position, waiting for the end.

The inevitable did not happen, however. Smog ran to the edge of the pit, picked up a good-sized pebble, and hurled it at the bulborb. I watched in awe as the great beast turned its head for just a moment. With perfect timing, Bubbles jabbed her zap piston into the creature's buttocks. The electricity flowed right through the thick hide. It wouldn't have been enough to even stun it, but the shock of the sudden sting caused the terrible creature to topple sideways into the pit. Smog leapt out of the way in the nick of time, and the beast became wedged in the hole.

"_Move it greens! We need to evacuate the cave! This monster won't stay trapped for long!" _ Bubbles shouted with fierce determination.

It was true. I could see that the monster was already struggling to get free, and we knew it eventually would succeed. There was no way we could kill it. Even at point blank range it would remain immune to all of our attacks. I saw that Bubbles had made the right call.

The green pikmin seemed to agree. The 'warriors' went back through the village, and tracked down every last pikmin. The mass evacuation was chaos. Pikmin began arguing over whether or not they should leave. A small leaf pikmin actually began running the other direction. Viper chased this straggler down, and forced him out the hole.

Smog was delivering a constant flow of what should have been lethal amounts of electricity into the bulborb. He pressed the piston directly against the skull. This only succeeded in buying us more time to evacuate.

Bud instructed that I should be carried out, as the path was too steep for a one-legged pikmin. Viper and a flowered green pikmin called Phyll carried me out. Phyll seemed to be a shady kind of character, but it seemed that Viper trusted him.

"_Thanks red dude, for saving us and stuff. That's what I would say if it hadn't been the other two doing all the work!" _Phyll grinned to show he was joking, and we continued out of the cave.

The cave exit led to a giant bowl-like plateau. The evacuees numbered around two hundred, they were everywhere, complaining and shouting.

Then suddenly a hush went over the crowd as one of the larger and older pikmin held up a hand. Viper quickly told me that this was their village leader. Bubbles, Bud and Smog emerged at about this time, and stood silently next to me. The pikmin began to speak.

"_Terrible misfortune has befallen us, my dear family_._ Our home has been abandoned, and all for naught! These colored fools have brought a pestilence upon us! _He gestured haltingly at the three of us and continued. "_We had made a solemn oath, the village council and I, that we would not become caught up in the silly quarrels of the colored pikmin! Many of you didn't even know that they existed! We have kept this information from you for good reason; look what calamity the colored bring!"_

I couldn't believe what I was hearing! We had saved these people, and now they had turned hostile? For some reason, they hated all other pikmin, and that must have been why they never made their presence known! Bubbles looked really hurt, and she was about to speak when Bud spoke instead.

"_These kind pikmin saved us from the terror of the deep, they didn't bring it! It was I who requested their assistance in driving out the dwarf bulborbs!"_

A gasp went up in the crowd. Those who knew about the existence of our colors were appalled. There were shouts of agreement also, though less common. Viper was the next to speak.

"_We owe our lives to the goodness of these pikmin. If you cannot understand this, you are a fool!!"_

"_With those words you have sealed your fate, foolish ones! I hereby renounce your place in our colony! Any who agree with these pathetic whiskerpillers are also no more!"_

Holy. What just happened? Can these pikmin really be that prejudiced? I turned to look at Viper, whose face was squinted in fury. In a rage, he jumped off of the plateau and onto a path leading to the ground just below. He strode off without further comment. Phyll immediately went after him, followed by Bud. After I explained to Smog, he helped me down from the ledge, and the two of us worked our way down. Bubbles soon joined us.

I tried to wrap my brain around everything that had just happened in the past ten minutes.

Our party of six walked in silence for about three minutes without looking back. Bubbles then noticed that Bud was crying.

"_How could our leader be so cruel? To be exiled just for being friends with those of another color is plainly wrong."_ Bud sobbed and leaned on Bubbles for support as we continued walking. We finally stopped about half a mile away from the plateau. Smog spotted the smoke from our camp, and insisted that we continue, but the rest of us were exhausted. He decided to continue on alone, and send back a recovery team to find us.

The rest of us collapsed in the shade of a boulder in a patch of cool grass. Nobody said anything for a while. Phyll and Viper started a small fire to make sure Smog could find us again. Nearly ten minutes later, Viper spoke.

"_It was worth it. I was sick of those morons anyway. Rationing our food and water even though we had plenty, not letting us leave the village for any reason…"_

Phyll then spoke, "_It was boring there. If the three of you will allow us to, we would be willing to join your army. We have nowhere else to go."_

Bud nodded enthusiastically_. _"_Please say yes, you guys are the first real friends we've had in a long time."_

Bubbles sighed, she was clearly upset by what had just gone down in that cave. "_I suppose it will have to do."_

And just like that, we gained some new allies.

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Bubbles

I felt terrible! We had invaded on the green's colony, and now these three were exiled because of it! I almost wanted to turn back, and beat some sense into their council, but that wouldn't have helped at all. How had we even ended up in this situation? Last I can recall, we were being good citizens by helping exterminate a few bulborbs in exchange for-

_"__Bud, did you get those herbs you were looking for?"_

Instead, Phyll answered. _"__Relax blue girl, I have a whole rucksack of the stuff right here."_

Bud protested, "_That's the leader's private medical bag! How did you get that?"_

_"I found a way to get it, and that is all that matters. We need it more than them anyway. And that isn't all I 'stole'" _Phyll reached into the medical bag and drew out something round and golden. As he held it up for us to see, Bud recognized it.

_"That's my necklace! Phyll!" _Bud jumped up and grabbed the trinket. It was a plain chain holding a golden orb at the end, and it seemed to be of great importance to her. "_Thank you so much! Where was it?"_

_"Their village leader had it. He must have taken it from your house when you weren't around."_

_"Why would he steal my necklace? Its only real value is to me." _She put it on after examining it closely for a moment.

_"It must have something to do with Grenon the wanderer,"_ Phyll turned to Flamer and I and explained _"Grenon is a green pikmin, like us. But he never stays in one place for long. An exile from a different green village, he travels from green colony to green colony. Anyway, one day he showed up in our village. He had been stabbed in the shoulder by a shearwig. Our medics refused to treat him, however. There isn't only prejudice against the people of other colors. All green colonies also hate exiled people. That is why the three of us need to join your army, we wouldn't be accepted into any other green society."_

Viper picked up where Phyll left off. _"Bud was the only person trained in healing arts that wasn't prejudiced against exiles. So she secretly helped him. In exchange, he gave her this necklace."_

_"It's ridiculous that our colony leaders don't tolerate exiles. And it is no surprise that they hid the existence of other colors from us. They must know that many of the greens would run off to wherever it is that you guys live. The three of us had heard rumors of other pikmin, but we haven't actually seen any besides you." _Phyll went through the rather large stolen sack as he said all of this, and pulled out four smaller, different colored bags. Bud took the violet bag, and pulled out a single white leaf.

_"This is a Fundi leaf. They are very good for knitting bones and reconfiguring muscle structure and the like. Watch." _ Flamer and I watched with great interest as Bud lit the tip of the leaf on fire. She let it burn until it was down to the stem, and then blew it out. The leaf did not fall to pieces as I expected, but instead changed to a dark blue color.

_"This is going to be very hot for a second Flamer, it feels like fire." _Flamer grinned at this.

_"Bring it on Bud! I can take the heat!" _Flamer didn't even flinch when she pressed the leaf to his leg. Bud looked confused at this.

_"Does it not hurt? How can you not be in pain?"_

_"Red pikmin are immune to heat, Bud."_

_"Really? That must be convenient. I thought it odd that you didn't have healing abilities. I guess this makes up for it."_ Bud finished pressing the leaf to Flamer's skin. Some of the blue color had transferred over, but otherwise it looked normal.

_"Take it easy for two or three more days Flamer. No running or serious exercise. You shouldn't need the crutch anymore though." _And Bud spoke the truth! Flamer immediately stood up without help. He whooped in triumph. Bud turned back to me, and asked:

_"How many colors of pikmin are there? Do they all have abilities like red?"_

_"There are seven colors, counting you guys. Red are fireproof and are usually a bit stronger in battle. Yellow can use bomb-rocks, can be thrown really high and are immune to electricity. White, like Smog, have night-vision, are pretty quick on their feet and can withstand poison. Purple are larger, and can lift ten times what any other color can. Then there are the Bulbmin, they are a parasitic species and live only underground and in designated areas. They are almost a barbaric race, and they do not mingle well with the other colors. The blue-" I_ was cut off by Flamer as he finished whooping and joined the conversation.

_"Blue have gills and can breathe underwater! Bubbles proved this when she saved me from drowning. Remember Bud; I was telling you before while Smog and Bubbles were beating on the bulborbs? She came to my rescue! And blue pikmin aren't that bad looking either."_

I felt my cheeks grow warm at his last comment, and I looked away, part in embarrassment, and part in shame. If Flamer knew the truth about my supposedly routine rescue, had he known that it hadn't been as easy as I had let on, he might lose respect for me. My thoughts were cut short when Viper spoke.

_"What of this strange language that I heard Smog speaking? Where did that come from?"_

Flamer and I looked at each other and blinked. I guess it would make sense that these three had no information about Lord Olimar and the Great Treasure Hunt. They especially had no idea that the entire pikmin population, aside from theirs, had been reshaped into a more sophisticated living style. How difficult their lives must have been without all of our conveniences. Bud had been surprised at our body armor and zap pistons. Speaking of which, Bud was still wearing Rugburn's armor plate. These three were in for a big surprise back at camp.

_"It's a long story. We'll tell you later around the campfire or something back at camp. What are those other herbs you have there Bud?"_

_"You mean these other bags? Well…" _Bud began explaining the herb lore of the other three plants. She showed us a bright yellow root pulp (Tayemtii Root) that could be used to treat infected bite wounds; a greenish mushroom (Kriikriik Shroom) that could be boiled to make a broth to eliminate both stomach pains and sore throats almost instantly; and a red material she said came from the Common Glowcap's inner stem, which stopped itching (simply Glowcap anti-itch powder). Flamer and I were rather impressed by these items. The discovery of these new medicines would really help out the entire pikmin society! Just wait until all of the pikmin see the valuable plants that were right under their noses! Bud did note that it took proper training in order to use the Fundi leaves and the Kriikriik Shroom correctly, and the former required a green pikmin's healing art as well. Flamer told her she would make an amazing medic, and I agreed.

I wondered if the green pikmin would ever agree to join HTC society. It seemed that only these three, and perhaps the few other straggling greens out there would be willing. This could be enough though! Didn't Lord Olimar start with one red pikmin? If we could get enough pokos to support the building of a green onion…

The five of us heard a shout in the distance. A retrieval party had been sent to bring us back to the camp. The commander of Troop 45 was there, along with Head Chief Richard.

Head Chief Richard was a respected purple pikmin, and the leader of the entirety of the army. Mostly he led the Commanders of their own divisions handle things the way they wanted.

I had time to notice that our commander did not look happy at all before Head Chief Richard spoke.

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Smog

Honestly, I wasn't really paying attention to the Head Chief's speech. He said something about how honored he was that the green pikmin had decided to aid their cause. I know that Bubbles mentioned that they should receive an onion so they could cultivate their own above-ground colony. I was amazed when The Head Chief said that he would fund the project himself. Bubbles requested that it be built at Base 45, our home site.

I was too busy thinking about the fact that neither my commander nor the head honcho had flinched when I had told them we had discovered a new color of pikmin. Apparently, those of us that had discovered them were the only ones who didn't know that there were new pikmin living in Buggy Hills. I even asked the few remaining members of my troop that hadn't fallen down that hole if they knew about the greens, and some of them had! Why was it such a secret anyway? Was it just because the green leaders hated the other colors?

And how inconvenient it was that both of our troops sub-leaders (Bubbles and I) had fallen down that hole. The other half or so of our troop that was left had to defeat a Snagret without any organized combat. Bubbles and I weren't sub-leaders because of fighting ability, but because of strategical knowledge. I had been promoted just a week after I began training because I adapted to situations so fast. Bubbles was able to keep the others in line surprisingly well. And just before I had left the camp to go find Bud and the others, the commander had said that he was going to add a third sub-leader as well as double our training. He was really pissed that he had lost so many soldiers so quickly. It smashed his clean slate to bits. No longer would he be known as the commander with barely any KIAs, but the commander that had had barley any KIAs until a stupid accident at Buggy Hills had killed off a fourth of his Troop.

I wasn't actually all that torn up about it. Sure, the pikmin in my troop had died, but I had hardly known any of them. The only people I knew very well had survived, and I was glad.

It was then I realized that none of us had any idea where Zap and the other three were.

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You may applaud. (pause for applause)

My longest chapter yet!

If you can read this, review! And if you cannot think of anything good to say, just tell me that I overuse commas, or that I am awesome.

SkippingZombie


	10. Chapter 10

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin

Part 10

Note: _Italics are pikmin speaking in the ancient pikmin language._

For all those concerned, the Buggy Hills bit will end over the next couple chapters. From there, the next part of the storyline will begin.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not. If I did, we would be up to Pikmin 6 by now.

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Zap

It turned out that I was the one doing all of the spirit lifting thru joke telling and a positive mental attitude. I was used to telling jokes, I considered myself a genius, but I was used to having someone else doing the leading. I had always been more of a follower. I followed Flamer from the day we met. I followed all of those in the army that ranked higher than I, such as Smog and Bubbles. The last time I remember striking out on my own all by myself, I had gotten trapped under a ten-pellet. My judgment wasn't the best unless Flamer was by my side. And he always had been, up until just about now.

I tried to sound confident when we first emerged from the cave. All around us were hills and plateaus of all kinds. Buggy Hills was a much larger place than I had imagined. I told our small group to follow the path that led to the lowest part of the slope. I don't mean path as in brick-lined, but as in brush and thorn lined with absolutely no sign of a previous crosser to the other side.

I was surprised when they listened to me. Somehow I had made myself the leader. Flamer did it all the time. How hard could it be?

Spout allowed Rugburn to lean on him as we made our own trail. Rugburn had regained what little dignity he had, and refused to be carried. I found this a bit odd. Rugburn seemed to be the sort of pikmin who was passive, a shy and timid sort. He had claustrophobia for one thing, and now both of his legs were all but useless. But he still insisted on trying to walk on his own. Perhaps I had underestimated him. Maybe now the shock of his injury had passed, and he was finally showing his true fighting spirit. Unluckily for his pride, he didn't make it very far before he admitted that being carried was a wiser choice. Toxin and Spout picked their way carefully along the trail, now carrying Rugburn.

It wasn't long before we saw some incredibly large plants poking up over the last of the hills. We walked towards these, with me joking the whole way. I think I did a good job at keeping our spirit up, but I cannot remember any of the jokes that I made during the walk. This was most likely due to what happened after we arrived at the strange plants.

We carefully made our way down from the hills. Slowly, veeeeeery slowly. The climb was a long one, and everyone, save Rugburn, was out of breath when we reached the bottom. I explained my plan to circle around to the north, and catch the army on the other side. I estimated blindly that this would take the rest of the day, maybe longer. We then turned to the plants.

These plants were nearly as tall as the hills we had just climbed down from. Their stems were a bright red color, all the way up until the very top where they abruptly turned green and spread into leaves as wide as onions. The stems themselves were very wide around; so wide that the four of us together couldn't touch hands around it. The four of us marveled at their peculiar appearance, and missed something very important.

From the stem of the plant directly behind us descended a large reddish dweevil. We turned around just in time to spot it. It looked similar to a fiery dweevil in many ways, except it's legs were covered in some sticky glue like substance and its front two legs were equipped with claws.

Before we could react, it had grabbed the four of us in those large pincers at the end of its two front legs, and quickly ascended about a quarter of the way up the stem.

We were all screaming and struggling, but we couldn't break loose from the creature's grip. I was caught up about the ribs, and I couldn't breathe very well. My lungs struggled to find air, but it was no use. Just as my eyes were beginning to lose focus, it released us.

It tossed us mercilessly into a large bowl-shaped web, to which we immediately became stuck fast. The height itself was startling, mostly because we could see right through the 'floor' of the web. The creature left for the top of the plant for reasons unknown to us at the time. But we knew it would be back. We screamed for a while longer, but soon we regained our level heads, and began talking to each other.

"Well this sucks," began Rugburn, "Any ideas?"

"If I could get to the stem, I could climb down," suggested Spout.

"Shit guys. I'm sorry about this. I've never really been good at leading. I can't do anything by myself. I shouldn't have let Flamer go after Bubbles, he could have gotten us though this." I lowered my head sadly.

"There isn't need to swear Zap," stated Toxin firmly. "We aren't dead yet. I'm sure that we'll find a way out of this. I've actually been inside the mouth of a Hairy Bulborb before. I managed to escape because my comrades killed the creature before it could swallow. We can't lose hope Zap."

But I wasn't listening to him. All I could think about was how I had failed them. And once again, I proved to myself that I wasn't a leader.

We stayed up there for what may have been five hours. The sun had eaten its way across the sky by that time. It was also about that time I got fed up with my self-pity.

Who am I? Smog? I don't need to get so pessimistic! What would Flamer do in this situation?

And soon, the glint was back in my eye. I had a plan.

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Smog

I held my tongue for about five more minutes while Head Chief Richard spoke about the new plans for a green onion addition (with Bubbles translating). Apparently he had been hoping to convince some greens to join HTC in eradicating all of the natural enemies on the continent. Bud, Phyll and Viper were committed to joining the army by now, and Richard was filling them in on all sorts of tactical plans. The three greens also mentioned the fact that there were other outcasts scattered around, and they would probably be willing to go to the HTC headquarters and start the green colony there.

I still wasn't paying close attention. Nobody here had mentioned Zap, Toxin, Rugburn and Spout since Richard had arrived. I could easily see that Flamer wanted to say something as well, but we didn't want to interrupt.

Eventually though, we did. "Sir! The three of us plus these three greens are not all that survived the cave."

My commander shot a glare at me. He then released all of his pent-up anger. "You mean the four that you mentioned when you came back to camp and told me to send a recon? The four that make up but a tiny fraction of our Troop? Four of the seven out of the fourteen, plus Flamer, who entered that goddamn cave, to emerge alive? Soldier! I made you a sub-leader of Troop 45 because I believed that you could take care of the others using that brain of yours. Yet only half of the pikmin who entered that cave came out. Half. If there were anyone else in my Troop capable of doing your job, you would be replaced instantly! You had better make sure that those four make it back, or your head will roll!!"

Well, I was right when I said he was pissed off. He had a right to be. Seven pikmin from the 30 in our troop were dead. I couldn't have prevented Clyde's death, or the blue he crushed. And I was sent sprawling while we fought the wollywog; Bubbles took command then. But I still felt I was to blame. I vowed to myself that those who could still be saved would be.

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Flamer

Phyll was the only green out of the three that had ever been to the surface. He had gone out where Zap and the others had, using a rope ladder that had since been broken away. He quickly explained to us that Zap and the others probably had ended up in the TallPlant Forest. Our commander assigned what was left of Troop 45 to retrieve the missing pikmin. That would be the sixteen who hadn't fallen down the hole, Bubbles, Smog and I, plus Phyll and Viper to show us the way. Bud would be going back to the camp to assist with the wounded.

Before we began gathering our expedition party, the Troop's commander pulled me aside and yelled at me for leaving my bed rest. Then he immediately thanked me for coming to the assistance of the green pikmin and those lost underground. The transition between his anger and his gratitude came so quickly that I wasn't prepared for it. I figured out what had happened. Smog had told the commander that it had been me who saved the greens in order to make him forgive me for leaving while I was injured.

It took about ten minutes to organize our party of twenty-one. I caught Smog and thanked him for covering me, and he told me that I was ridiculous.

"You know you were the one who helped out the most down there. Bubbles was about to give up, until you showed your face. If you hadn't come, Bubbles and I wouldn't have been able to bounce back. I didn't give you credit for anything. You earned it." Smog then turned his heels to begin the march. I couldn't decide if I wanted to slap him or thank him, so I did neither.

We set off for the other side of Buggy Hills, The TallPlant Forest. What a silly name. It only sounded silly because of the bad translation from pikmin old, though.

Phyll led the way, and Bubbles let it be known that she was in charge. We had 'conveniently' left out the part about me hurting my leg when we spoke to Richard. Only our commander knew about that. Bud had told me to take it easy, but I wasn't about to skip out on my best friend when he might be in trouble!

The rest of our army was now on cleanup duty. They were rounding up what was left of the enemies and eradicating them. Our commander had told us that that would take about one day at longest, so we would have to hurry and bring back those missing.

Phyll led us about four miles around the base of the Hills to an easy way over them. We all climbed up and found this part of Buggy Hills to be mostly a plateau with many dips and crevices. We worked our way steadily along, keeping a lookout for anything suspicious.

I spent most of the long hours discussing the war campaign with Smog. Seemingly, the army had to clear three more areas on the East side of the continent before moving along the coast to the north, where the really dangerous foes lurked. Smog explained that the war would probably last for two or more years, and we'd all be used to life out here by then.

I wasn't feeling homesick at all, actually. It was kind of nice seeing the world. I'm sure Zap didn't mind.

Zap… I wonder how he's doing.

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Bubbles

And so here we were. After narrowly escaping death, we were put right back on the field. Our procession moved along at a steady pace for a few hours, until we caught site of the strange plants that made up the TallPlant Forest.

Were kept low and peered over the edge of the hill ridge. Smog was the one who spotted them.

"Holy crap. They're caught in a web." Smog stated this grudgingly. All of us moved closer, and could see their faces clearly. We could also see the dweevil, seemingly sleeping quite a ways above its web. Viper and Phyll looked at each other, and then began to whisper.

_"They must have been caught by a Bowl-webbed Dweevil. They use sap from the inside of these plants to make themselves able to walk on the stems. They prey on smaller things such as dwarf bulborbs by catching them with their nasty pincers and entangling them in the web until the creature gets hungry. By the looks of this one, it has just recently eaten."_

I translated this and our company took a look at the beast. Its body was bloated in an odd way, and I assumed that it had just eaten a dwarf bulborb or something small.

_"C'mon, we can take him!" _ Said Flamer enthusiastically. _"It'll be no match for all of us!"_

"_But they have extremely aggressive attacks, plus we have no way to reach it. We need to find a way to get our allies down without alerting the dweevil."_

But we soon saw that there was no need. We watched in awe as the following happened.

Zap wordlessly instructed Rugburn to use his makeshift splints as tiny saws to cut through his bonds. Then he showed him how to tell the difference between the sticky threads and the guiding threads by how much foliage and such was attached to them. Rugburn was soon able to move along the non-sticky threads and work the other three loose. Then Spout grabbed one of the guiding threads and used it to tie Rugburn to his back. The two of them then descended quietly, Spout proving again that he was an excellent climber. Toxin and Zap noiselessly carved some small holes in the stem using Rugburn's discarded splints as pitons, and coated their hands with the sap. Then they too, descended.

I was truly amazed. It must have taken one heck of a leader to come up with that plan.

In the end, all four made it to the ground in one piece. We quietly moved in and pulled them out of there. The four of them were clearly surprised to see us.

When we had moved about a hundred yards back the way we had came, Flamer spoke up.

"I don't know if you care or not, but Zap, I'm very proud of you."

"Spare me the romance Flamer. You could've done it all the same."

But I could see that he was pleased. We, the twenty-six members of Troop 45 made our way back to our camp. By that time, it was so very late, the whites and the two greens had to lead the way with their superior night-vision.

We had to be especially careful to avoid the small crevices and to keep our footing. Flamer and Zap spent the trip telling the members of Troop 45 the story behind their grand battles and narrow escapes. They might have exaggerated a tiny bit, but Smog and I said nothing because we were intent on delivering the Troop safely back to the camp.

The pikmin who had avoided the snagret hole filled us in on the surface battle. There had been an amazing number of bulborbs around the hills, and the army fought intensively for many hours.

They also told us how they had beaten the Burrowing Snagret using a bitter berry spray. The pikmin had conquered Buggy Hills, and we were going all the way to the top.

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Bubbles (Back at camp)

Needless to say, there was much rejoicing back at camp. We broke out some special drinks that the Head Chief provided. Flamer, Zap, Me, Smog, Spout, Toxin, Bud, Phyll, Rugburn and Viper all crowded into my tent to celebrate our survival. Bud had used the Fundi leaf to heal Rugburn, and he was feeling much better. Even Smog had a good time, despite the verbal beating he had received from our commander. We had all decided that it was better to celebrate life than to mourn death.

The casualties on the pikmin side equaled 43. That left 50 Troops with a total of 1471 pikmin. That included Phyll and Viper, who were both assigned to Troop 45 due to our having two speakers of pikmin old. Bud had joined the medical staff of about 120, whose figure was not included in the total fighting numbers.

We learned at about eleven o'clock that Flamer had been promoted to sub-leader. Smog and I had convinced our commander to promote him to the third position that had just opened. We then redoubled our efforts at partying, and nearly everyone was soon pooped. Rugburn actually fell asleep in the tent, Flamer and I had to wake him and send him on his way. At last, it was just Flamer and I.

"So, are you sleepy?" I asked Flamer.

"Not even a little bit." He replied.

"So what do you want to do?"

"What can we do? We should be sleeping."

"But we aren't."

"That is definitely true."

"So…"

"Tell me a story or something."

"What? I- okay, I guess." I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to tell Flamer the secret I had been keeping. I felt that he deserved to know, because he was the one who I had rescued, even with my lack of something vital.

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What is it? Tell me!! AGGGG!!

Next chappy, Bubbles' past is revealed as well as the commander's super tough training. And the move from Buggy Hills!

-SkippingZombie


	11. Chapter 11

In The Land Of Pikmin

In The Land Of Pikmin; Part 15

Note: _Italics are pikmin speaking in the ancient pikmin language._

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Pikmin. As much as I wish I did, I do not. If I did, we would have a Pikmin RTS Online by now.

Bubbles

So there we were. Flamer and I were sitting alone in our tent, and I was about to tell him my biggest secret. I knew he would keep it, but I couldn't seem to diffuse all of my fear. I cleared my throat, and began to tell him my story.

"I was born at Base 12, originally. That's northwest of Camp Kenmore. But I… you see… I wasn't widely accepted. That's because I was… I have no gills, Flamer."

"What? What do you mean? I can see your gills from here." He pointed to my gill slits, and I nodded.

"These look like gills, don't they? But they aren't. They are only a tattoo."

"What's a tattoo?"

"It is a type of ink, permanently set into the skin. These gills are not real, Flamer." I grabbed his hand, and I passed his hand over the false gills.

He looked confused. "But the day you rescued me, you had to swim to save me! How did you manage that?"

I shook my head. "It was very lucky of me. I had to resurface for air many times. I could have drowned as well."

"Then you really are a hero!"

"What?"

"You dove in to save me despite your setback!"

"I- I did what anyone would have done."

"And I thank you! You're the best, Bubbles!" Flamer spontaneously hugged me, and I returned the gesture after a moment of shock. So he wasn't upset at all? Good old Flamer.

"And then what happened?" He asked me suddenly.

"Well, I left. After constant mocking for several years, I just left. I wandered the wilderness for almost three months. I burned myself with these marks, to disguise the fact that I had no gills. Then one day, I stumbled upon an army outpost, under the command of the same commander you and I have today. And I decided to join. I had nothing better to do. There I met Spout and Toxin, among many others, and Toxin had joined on the same day that I did."

"Two years later, I end up as a sub-leader with a brand-new recruit, Smog. Only Toxin and Spout were transferred along with me, so I didn't know many people. But after some more training, we set off to take the entire continent by storm."

"And then you met me!" Flamer interjected. "You must be a great fighter, then."

"Why do you think I'm a sub-leader?"

"As am I, as of today. How hard is it?"

"It isn't that bad, only a bit of paperwork and a few responsibilities. You're still new, so leave most of the strategy to Smog and I."

"Come to think of it, I should tell you something too. I'm actually from Base 45, not Camp Kenmore. Both Zap and I. We really did attend Elcowitz Boot Camp, though. We kind of got stuck in a crate, and Smog helped us out, but not until we were miles and miles from home. So we joined the army."

"What? That's the strangest thing I've heard today! But I suppose I understand why you didn't tell the commander the truth. Stowaways are not received well."

"Just don't tell anyone. Promise?"

"Yup. Can you promise to keep my secret?"

"Yup." He imitated my answer. I laughed and grappled him. We rolled laughing from one cot to the other, until we were completely exhausted.

"Goodnight, Flamer."

"G'night."

We rolled up in our blankets, and went to sleep on our thin cots, designed for traveling, not permanency. I wondered how much longer it would be before we saw home again. I then realized that I had forgotten to write in my diary, but dismissed it until the morning. Both of us soon fell asleep.

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Smog (2 DAYS LATER)

It turns out that we didn't all get killed. That's good. My new friends and I survived Buggy Hills, and now we were moving on. It was only the morning of the ninth day today, but it felt like so much longer.

It had only taken the army one day to clear the TallPlant forest. Flamer, myself, and the rest who had been underground were ordered to stay behind to put together a massive report on the incident. We got an extra four hours to sleep, as well, that's always good.

It was on the next day that things turned sour. Our commander tripled our physical training, and it was easy to catch slackers, because there were less people to keep track of. Phyll had no trouble keeping up because he was very fit. Viper was pretty exhausted by the time we were dismissed for lunch, however. He said something snide about the workout, and Bubbles, Flamer and Phyll laughed. I couldn't understand him, though, so I felt sort of left out. Instead, I spent most of my time with Zap during lunch and the first leg of the march to what would be our new location.

We were headed to the Crimson Savannah. This place was said to be home to several different types of blowhogs; Sandy, Fiery, Watery, and Withering. Also there would be Fiery Bulblaxes to contend with.

The area was to be divided into fifty sections, one for each squad. Each section would be about one and a third miles wide and nearly fifty miles long. To effectively clear the area, we would need a little less than three weeks. The plan was to communicate with smoke signals when we needed assistance and the like.

So it was a three-day march to a three-week fight. Fantastic. And the reduced size of Troop 45 wasn't very comforting either. Everyone calls me pessimistic, but I'm just looking at reality. Can our army really clear such a vast area?

The army set up camp after the long hike, and Troop 45 unpacked all of the tents and cots from their carts. Zap had been moved to my tent, and we decided to set up near Bubbles' tent so we could all talk. Viper, Phyll, Spout, Toxin, and Rugburn also set up nearby. Rugburn now had his tent to himself after his bunkmate decided to move to a different tent.

We built a good-sized fire, and the nine of us just sat back and talked for most of the evening. Bud came to join us after sunset, so we were then a group of ten. We talked about the past and the future.

"And just as it was about to swallow me whole, it gave a horrible squeal, and dropped me the sweet, sweet earth. My comrades had killed it just as I thought it was all over. The Hairy Bulborb heaved once, and was still." Toxin had just finished telling his story about nearly getting eaten by a Hairy Bulborb. I myself was feeling pretty tired, and nearly dozed off.

"My story couldn't have been _that_ boring Smog." Toxin said, feigning a hurt voice. "You try telling one."

"Tell us about yourself, Smog." Said Rugburn suddenly. "None of us know anything about you.

"You want to hear my story? Fine, but then you'll understand why I'm so pessimistic all of the time." I glared at those around me.

"We're all friends. I know that. But I had other friends, years ago, before they were killed. I've experienced hurt far beyond any of your imaginations."

"I'm from Base 45, just like Fl--" I caught myself from revealing the secret. "—It's near HTC, and the army marched through it at the start of this horrible journey. I didn't want to join the army. I wanted to be left alone. Then I was drafted."

"My best friends from more than two years ago never would have allowed me to go, not alone. I only knew them for a month, but I knew right away that I wanted to be there for them always. But fate wouldn't have that. When we were harvesting pellets; we worked together, that's how I met them; a greater spotted Jellyfloat sucked them up. I couldn't do anything, I just had to run. And I did. I ran away. And the only two people I cared about were swept away."

"Their names were L.B. and Node. Red and yellow, respectively. When I met Flamer and Zap, I was so surprised that I stuttered a little. I even fainted standing up. You reminded me so much of them, that it scared me. And now here we are, you are my friends."

"I'm not the weakling I was before I joined the army. I was so wallowing in pity before. Now I have a purpose. So even though I say I hate that I was drafted, it probably saved me. As much as I hate the war, I see its necessity. I won't let anything happen to my friends again, ever."

I stopped talking, and there was an awkward silence for a minute.

"I had no idea, Smog." Bubbles said weakly. She translated my story into pikmin old for the greens, and then the silence resumed.

I got up from the group and went to bed. I cried a little bit, but I can't be blamed for that.

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Brilliance!

-SZ


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